Fierce Lover: Fierce Mates: Sierra Pride, #8

By Liza Street

Two hearts will never forget, especially when they belong to fated mates.

Starla Fournier never thought she'd see her loved ones again, and that included Rourke Mackenzie, her childhood friend. Plagued by guilt and shame from the circumstances surrounding her disappearance, she's finally reunited with her family. The reunion is tainted by the knowledge that her adoptive pride is anxious for her return. Worst of all, seeing Rourke after all these years will make her question arrangements that have already been set in motion—arrangements that will interfere with their chance to be together.

A wolf shifter, Rourke Mackenzie has spent the last eighteen years trying to forget Starla. He finds absolution in the flames he battles as a firefighter, in the bottom of a bottle, and in the arms of a long string of one-night-stands. When he finally sees Starla again, the wolf inside of him wants nothing more than to claim her as his, but his human side can't ignore the betrayal of her disappearance. Just when he thinks they'll be able to resolve their differences, a dangerous shifter steps forward to claim her. Rourke will have to act fast in order to protect his mate.

This sexy shapeshifter novelette includes a happily-ever-after as well as explicit love scenes and naughty language. It is intended for adults.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Liza Street
• Release date: Mar 6, 2017
• ISBN: 9781386644866

Book preview

Chapter One

AS HER PARENTS’ RENTAL car coasted along the curve of the driveway, Starla was struck with longing. This place, the Sierra Pride territory, hadn’t gone up in flames. The summer air was warm through her open window, and the scents of the dry grasses tickled her nose. This place was familiar, because it had once been her home.

You doing okay, Starla-girl? her dad asked.

Thirty years old, and she still couldn’t shake the nickname he’d given her when she came to him at age eleven. Doing good so far, Dad.

Her mom reached back to touch Starla’s hand. Even though Starla had come to them illegally, through tragedy and for the gains of a crooked adoption agent, she’d been lucky in her placement with them. They were a good family.

Her breath hitched as the house came into view. In her mind, the big farmhouse had been nothing but charred rubble, but there it was, rising up from the ground.

A crowd of people stood on a patio by the side of the house, and as one unit they rushed forward, eagerly standing around the car. Starla stepped out, wondering if this was how celebrities felt as they climbed from a limo to stand on the red carpet, surrounded by photographers and fans.

So far, they were a group of nameless faces, but they shuffled her forward into the house. Starla turned, looking for her parents. They each gave her a smile and followed behind.

Once inside, the crush of her brothers and sisters all pressing into her was surreal. The last time she saw them, their bodies were going up in smoke from a fire she’d started. Every night for nearly twenty years she’d had nightmares of their blackened corpses pointing skeletal fingers in her direction. Your fault, Starla. Your fault.

Last week, a phone call had changed everything. Can I please speak to Starla? Starla Fournier?

This is Starla.

Oh my god, it’s really her, the man had said, sounding farther away. He wasn’t talking to her, but to someone else.

I’m sorry, Starla had said, but what is this about? Outside the small Florida tract home she shared with her parents, the occasional car passed by. A fly had been stuck inside and buzzed against the window. She was starting to feel trapped herself, wanting to go for a run as a mountain lion, wanting to get free of her body and the confines of the house. The sooner the call was over, the better.

This is your brother, Gabriel.

I don’t know what kind of sick joke you’re playing—

No, hear me out.

She’d almost hung up the phone, but something about the way he spoke made her pause. I’m listening.

It had turned out that in some kind of B-movie-worthy scheme, the nice man who had taken her from her burned house and family had actually kidnapped her and hypnotized her into believing her entire family was dead. Meanwhile, the way he’d taken her had suggested to her family that Starla had been brutally murdered, although her body had never been recovered.

She’d never been recovered because she’d been right here, living in Florida, trying to forget the ghosts of her past.

She hadn’t wanted to talk to Gabriel for long. There was so much information. Her birth parents and Aunt Nan had passed, which filled her with a new, separate grief. But her brothers and sisters were all very much alive and they had very much wanted to see her. She’d agreed to come out for this visit to reunite with her family, on the condition that her adoptive parents were also welcome. And now she was here, trapped in this horde of people, wondering if she’d ever sort out who was who.

Okay, folks, let the woman breathe, an unfamiliar female voice said from across the room.

The press of bodies lessened, and although everyone was still within arm’s length, Starla could breathe a little easier.

Starla shot a thankful expression at the woman, who wore cut-off jeans and a green t-shirt. The woman’s blond hair was up in a messy bun, and a girl who looked seven or eight stood at her side, staring at Starla with unabashed interest.

I’m Ava, the woman said, holding out a hand. Jude is my mate.

Starla nodded. Jude was her second-oldest brother—he’d been born after Gabriel. She looked around and saw him standing off to the side, chatting easily with Starla’s parents.

Ava continued, This is our daughter, Chloe.

Starla shook Ava’s hand, then turned to the girl. For some reason, she felt like it would be easier to talk to a kid than to the adults. Hi, Chloe. How are you?

Good. I’m glad you’re back.

Aw, thanks. Starla’s intuition had been right. This was easy, talking to Chloe. How old are you?

I’m six.

Ooh, what a special age. You’ll be doing your betrothal ceremony next year, right?

Chloe wrinkled her nose, and Ava’s eyes went round in shock.

My what? Chloe asked.

Starla’s cheeks felt hot. Right. Sorry. I forgot the Sierra Pride doesn’t do things that way.

It’s different in the Everglades Pride? Ava asked.

Starla nodded, but inside she was thinking, Very different.

Luckily there’d been enough extra chatter going on throughout the room that no one seemed to have overheard the awkward exchange. There were other unfamiliar women in the